Categories
Geek It Happened to Me

Notes from FacebookCamp, Part 1

Caitlin O’Farrell at the podium at FacebookCamp Toronto
Facebook’s Caitlin O’Farrell gets the ball rolling at FacebookCamp Toronto.

Accordion City loves Facebook — we’ve got 725,000 Facebook users (out of a population of around 3 million), and until recently, we were the number 1 city in the world as far as Facebook users go.

It’s not just ordinary Toronto Facebook users who are in love with social networking site; Torotno developers are also interested, if last night’s attendance at FacebookCamp Toronto — 450 to 500, depending on whom you ask — is any indication. This gathering of developers interested in writing applications for Facebook — the first of its kind held outside the U.S. — attracted so many people that they had to change the venue three times before landing a place big enough to accomodate everyone: the MaRS Centre, a centre for promoting high-tech and biotech research in Toronto. Even with the MaRS Centre’s large auditorium, set to seat over 400 people, they set up a spill-over room with simulcast video to handle all the attendees.

My first set of notes from last night’s presentation is up, and you can read them on these blogs:

Wayne “Bunnyhero” Lee gives the thumbs-up beside a sign showing FacebookCamp’s sponsors
Wayne “bunnyhero” Lee approves of FacebookCamp’s sponsors.

Categories
funny

Summertime in London

Eurostar ad “Summertime in London” featuring a London Tower guard getting his head shaved.
Photo courtesy of Miss Fipi Lele.

Categories
Toronto (a.k.a. Accordion City)

Facebook Developer Garage Tonight!

Facebook Developer Garage logo

Tonight’s the night: Facebook Developer Garage (a.k.a. FacebookCamp) happens tonight at 6:30 p.m. at the Mars Discovery District (101 College Street, Toronto). This will be the first of a series of Facebook Garages/Camps; there’s already talk of holding another one for the fall. If you’re interested in developing applications to run on the Facebook platform, this is a must-catch event, as not only are about 300 local developers planning to attend — the event has garnered so much attention that Facebook is flying reps up to speak. As you can imagine, seating will be limited, so if you can come early, do so.

I’ll be taking my usual copious notes and will post them here, so watch this space!

Here’s the schedule of tonight’s events:

When What’s Happening
6:00 p.m. Social/mingling
6:30 Introduction by Colin Smillie Roy Pereira and Andrew Cherwenka
6:40 Best Practices around Product Design and Viral Marketing by Meagan Marks, Facebook.com
7:30 Anatomy of a Facebook Application by Jay Goldman and Michael Glenn, Radiant Core
7:50 FBML Overview by Sunil Boodram, Trapeze Media
8:10 FQL Overview by Craig Saila
8:30 Updating the Facebook Profile by Colin Smillie, Refresh Partners
8:50 Demo: .Net Sample Application by Ricardo Covo
9:00 Demo: Carpool by Zimride by Rajat Suri
9:10 Demo: Ogrant by Shachin Ghelani
9:20 Wrap-up and drinks

Cross-posted to the Tucows Developer Blog

Categories
funny

C’mon…Dude…Finish…Already!

Man on ladder as another man gives the ladder a boost.
Photo courtesy of Miss Fipi Lele and Kokogiak.

Categories
Geek

Fake Steve Jobs is a Dick

Copy of Forbes November 14, 2005 issue in a urinal.

Now that we know the identity of the blogger known as Fake Steve Jobs, I am compelled to infomr you of something: Fake Steve Jobs is a Dick. See Global Nerdy for details.

Categories
Music

How a Record Gets Leaked

(This article was cross-posted to Global Nerdy.)

Here’s an infographic explaining how a record gets leaked from a Spin article titled Days of the Leak:

Preview image of “How a Record Gets Leaked”
Click the image to see it at full size.

According to the infographic, there are a number of opportunities for an album to make it into the public’s hands between its completion and release:

  • At the studio: 4 months before release — As soon as a record is finished, anyone from the producer to the engineer to the band members can spoil the fun.
  • At the label: 3 1/2 months before release — Labels send albums to companies like Sonic Arts to add a digital encryption code that can identify evildoers…but not necessarily stop them.
  • By the press: 3 months before release — Considered to be the most common source of album leakage, watermarks or not. Oops!
  • At the plant: 1 month before release — While in the process of being manufactured, a CD is ostensibly secured under lock and key, but sometimes copies fall off the back of trucks.
  • At the warehouse: 2 weeks before release — Once CDs await shipping to retailers, it’s virtually guaranteed that a copy will find its way online.
  • At retail: And of course, once an album is for sale online and in stores, all bets are off.
Categories
Uncategorized

FacebookRestClient’s “Friends” Methods

(This was cross-posted to Global Nerdy.)

T-shirt: “I Facebooked Your Mom”More tutorial goodness for those of you who are getting started writing Facebook apps, and especially if you’re attending next Tuesday’s Facebook Developer Garage [here’s the wiki page | here’s the Facebook event]: I’ve got another Facebook developer tutorial up on the Tucows Developer Blog. This one covers the “Friends” methods of the FacebookRestClient class.